Soft winds brushed against the curtains beside me, tickling the hairs up my arm. Today was the day. Today was my birthday. It would be the first ever birthday I'd celebrated in a different part of the world. I'd never been on holiday; Kanto was all that I had known. Stories of white soft sand left me feeling envious of my old friends. I couldn't help but wonder if Sinnoh had white sand somewhere, perhaps to the east there'd be some near Sunyshore. Maybe even on its very own beach.
I gently moved around Ellen and closed my bedroom door. I hopped on my sofa as quietly as I could and looked up. The stars were still out, shining their brilliance like a billion droplets in a massive storm. Rays of sunshine peaked over the horizon but didn't move quickly enough to take away the experience. Good. Let me have my darkness in peace.
There were no rumblings of thunder from afar or any clouds covering the sky. Today was going to be a warm day. My kitchen left me feeling empty inside. No food in the house, yet I had all the money in the world. I opened my phone and browsed the internet, specifically that one breeder's website. The Roggenrola was still spinning away at the top of the screen, but a map had appeared below it since I last checked.
The map detailed land masses, ship transponders, and a seemingly infinite number of '!' marks everywhere. There were three around the ship transporting my Pokémon. Only one drew my attention. It was a Walrein! That thing better not sink my ship, otherwise, I'd swim out there and tear that Pokémon a new one. Yeah, I'd definitely do that. Same with the Captain of the vessel. Provided he didn't... you know... go down with the ship.
Yellow lights danced across my vision, drawing my attention. Was that some kind of UFO? It sure as hell looked like the stereotypical UFOs I saw on weird websites. Don't judge me. I can binge whatever I want. Within the golden blob was a thin blue ring pulsating with life. The longer I stared at it, the more intense it became. Magnezone. It had to be. There was no way it could've been anything else. I'd only ever seen them with higher-level trainers, never in the wild. The appearance of such a rare sight would be one I'd cherish for some time.
But... how could a wild Magnezone even appear around this area? Tales spoke of a place within Mount Coronet where magnetism was at its strongest, allowing a Magnezone to somehow form. In that case, it meant that the Magnezone had been travelling for some time. Its previous evolutions of Magnemite followed by Magneton, were readily available in most caves around Sinnoh. Apparently, they were extremely difficult to control even if you'd known its previous evolutions your entire life.
Once the metallic Pokémon was directly above my house, I felt something in the room change. At first, it was slow and steady. However, the intensity of the change became more and more forceful. That was until something bizarre started to happen. My phone started to float out of my grasp followed shortly by my television. Pokémon had the power to do this!?
I heard a loud bang in the kitchen and felt around for Ellen instinctively. She'd be safe in the bedroom, I thought. There wasn't anything that could cause her any kind of harm in there.
I quickly ducked and narrowly avoided having my hair cleaved off. First Ellen made a side of my hair frizzled, and now knives were trying to slice it off! Was the universe trying to tell me something here? The knives still in the kitchen clattered against one another in a grant fencing tournament to see who could wake Ellen up first. Either that Magnezone was clueless or something else was going on here. I didn't fail to notice Magnezone hovering around for a little while, likely sapping my internet as some kind of food for itself.
Thank Arceus I had no neighbours. The noise would've been unbearable otherwise.
For a moment I swear I caught Magnezone's ruby eye glaring down at me like I was nothing more than an insect. Strange magnetic waves coalesced with the shining ruby eye making for a light show that'd put any contest to shame. There was a movie in the theatres called 'Magneton's Malice' that tried to replicate the pure power of a Magnezone. It was scarily accurate to the real deal.
Magnezone eventually had enough of my home and flew away.
Everything dropped. My stomach. The knives from my kitchen. My television. My phone, although that landed in my grasp. My router. Everything made out of metal was now scattered across the carpets in the most infuriating pile possible. I had to watch myself here, the knives were all stood upright. Hm. I wonder if that was done intentionally to ward off any person from this area.
Oh. Right. There's only one person that lives here, yours truly.
Ellen emerged from my bedroom. Her eyes widened at the horrendous sight. Yeah... it was pretty bad. This was no longer a living room, now it was a death room if such a thing even existed. Ellen glanced back to me and then began the arduous trip of not getting herself hurt before making her way to my side. I swear there is an extra skip to her step this morning.
"Hey girl," I gently lifted her over the knives, placing her down on the sofa. "Guess what today is?"
"Ves, Ves. Vesta! Larvesta!"
She remembered. "That's right, I think? It's my birthday! I'm finally a legal adult. Feels super weird, like I've got more responsibilities all of a sudden. Yuck."
"Vesta."
"I'm glad you agree," I smiled. "Wait... I don't even know how old you are."
"VES!" she screeched spinning on the spot clockwise and then going in the other direction for a few seconds. I still hadn't a clue what she was trying to tell me. Bless her for trying though.
"I don't know what you're saying– watch it!" she leapt over the metal heap and stormed off.
I followed closely behind asking her what was the matter. She didn't respond. I took a look outside and then a look at my phone, Arceus it was early. "It's a little too early for walks around in the garden Ellen–"
She kept on moving forward until she reached the patio door. Once she headbutted the door, which was adorable, she pivoted on the spot and then stared at me expectedly. I chose to remain still. Ellen nodded, turned around, and climbed up the glass. Describing her as being stubborn would be a vast understatement now, it was beyond that. She was becoming more independent and wouldn't let me or whatever made those tunnels keep her out of her own garden.
Still, the thought of her potentially opening the back door freaked me out. The handle had already been turned though. Weird. I could've sworn that I had locked it in place before I went to sleep.
I shrugged my shoulders and went into the kitchen. I grabbed Ellen's water bowl and filled it up as quickly as possible. She wasn't the type to wait around forever. Once I walked back into the living room Ellen was actually waiting for me... outside.
"You shouldn't do that," I warned.
"Vestaaa..." she whined headbutting my shin. At least she'd now learned not to headbutt me with her horns. It had only happened once, but once was enough. I wouldn't say that I yelled at her for doing it, however, some vulgar language may or may not have been used when it occurred. That's all I'm saying.
To my surprise, once she'd had a few sips of water, Ellen wouldn't let me outside with her. Instead, she sat there with her horns pointed at me so as to tell me to remain where I was. She reminded me of a Rhydon I'd seen in Kanto. I took a step backwards and left her to do... whatever it was that she wanted to do.
I smelled the air for a possible hint of what she might be retrieving for me. The air became a little lighter, the scent of something very sweet was headed in my direction. Eventually, Ellen's now slightly larger horns broke through one of the bushes on the opposite end of the garden. From the looks of it, she was carrying something in her mouth.
I say 'carry' it was more like 'awkwardly dragging along.' I couldn't see it at first, but the smell grew stronger until it was the only thing that I could smell in the garden. I really, really hoped that she wasn't bringing back a dead Pokémon. Dead bodies on birthdays never boded well for the future, Pokémon or otherwise. The only time she could have potentially caught a random Pokémon and kept it hidden would have had to have been when Anne and I went down the tunnel. Or it was when I was nearly killed on Stands Street. She had quite a few hours to herself then.
"...VESTA!" she yelled.
"Hm?" I hummed. Oh, she was here already. Either she could move quicker than I thought, or my mind could speak to itself for a while. Alongside Ellen was a strange little present, and no it wasn't a Pokémon. Ellen shyly retreated back inside when she saw I was bending down to pick up the gift.
It was a crown made of red flowers, mixed together with strange little pebbles. What made me smile that much more was what the pebbles were organised into. Letters. Poorly constructed letters, but letters nonetheless.
"ELOC," I whispered holding the crown to my chest. She had tried to spell out my name. It was close enough and it meant everything to me. I also noticed the heavily pruned sepals all on one side of the crown. When I placed the crown atop my head, I instantly knew why. She was trying to cover my small bald spot.
By the time I turned around, Ellen was beneath the sofa watching me at a distance.
"Ellen I love the present," I shouted. She still didn't move so I approached her slowly and knelt before her. "I like it a lot," I tried to stick my head under. Sadly I wouldn't fit. "Are you gonna come out?"
"Vesta." She responded resolutely. I at least understood that meant a resounding no.
"You won't be able to see me in my full glory," I teased. Surely she'd bite at that. And sure enough, I saw her poke a head out. However, her neck wouldn't crane that far back so she had to improvise by turning upside down.
After some time, I managed to coax her out with the mention of Anne's soon arrival. Our battle, our first one ever, was just around the corner. And yes, I'd be rocking this crown to the battle. Anne hopefully intended to hold back, but we had no such plans. We wanted to win.
My phone buzzed in my pocket; the sounds of nature emanating from it made me feel refreshed. To help that feeling grow, the sun grazed my face.
It was time.
"Anne?" I asked over the phone. "Anne, why are you out of breath? Are you ok?"
"...nothing...don't know...almost there..." she heaved in response.
Almost where exactly?
I frowned. "What are you talking about? You've not had alcohol so early in the morning, have you?"
Three loud consecutive bangs at the door made me jump. My eyes drifted to the window and I sighed. When would I learn to close my damn blinds? I was asking for trouble at this point. Anne tried to hide but the wind gave away her identity. She stopped edging towards the window when she spotted that my lights were on.
I unlocked the door with a smile.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Anne yelled. "Nice crown dude."
Her Pokémon were all here with her, shouting a chorus of jargony mess. They meant well. Wait... all of her Pokémon were here? I tallied them up in my head. Aipom, Delcatty, Mareep, and Delibird. Hmm... something was off.
"Anne I hope you're–" I paused when Sandile shot out from the basket and latched onto my hand, "–doing well. It's great to see you."
"Oh my– Eric I'm so sorry! He was supposed to say Happy Birthday. Well, maybe this is him saying Happy Birthday after all. Remember how I said he shows affection by biting people?"
I grunted squeezing Sandile's tongue in retribution. "Mhm, thanks Sandile."
Anne showed me her pearly whites and handed over her basket. I invited her inside all the while pulling at Sandile's tongue until he let go. He had no intention of letting go. It wasn't until the smell of steak filled his nostrils that he finally decided to loosen his grip. Strangely, I wasn't even bleeding from the bite.
Please don't tell me that my body is getting used to him biting me. That's the very last thing I wanted to happen because if he figured it out, I could kiss my fingers, hands, and feet goodbye.
Anne sat down together on the sofa with a container of meat held in front of her. Sandile sat obediently in front of her, drooling like a crazed creature. She patted the cushion beside her and I settled down, watching Sandile's eyes never move from the meat. His drool started to mark the carpet. I didn't want to say anything but the sheer volume of it was beginning to get out of control.
"Eyes up, good boy." She lowered the container. "Eat."
Sandile's lack of table manners left Ellen on edge. I could see flames of rage dancing in her eyes. I gently tapped Anne's shoulders, shaking my head.
"It's a good trick..." she muttered under her breath.
"I guess?" the good news was that Sandile wasn't targeting me now. Great news, in fact. Given what he was doing to that slab of meat... maybe he did like me after all.
"Take a look in here." Anne slid the basket to me with a smile, tapping the woven fibre giddily. "I bought another, hopefully, this one will last."
A slim hand-held device within the basket immediately caught my attention. The shine it gave off indicated that it was either brand new or resold by a very good second-hand vendor. There were some bizarre coloured sprays beneath it labelled with different names. Paralyze heals and Potions made up the majority of the basket. I lifted the device up and met Anne's eyes. She noticed that I was confused and laughed. Sandile poked his head up to see what was of interest, when he saw it was something to do with me, he went back to eating the meat. However, this time when he bent down to eat the meat, his eyes never left my own.
Psycho.
"Is it a uh," I racked my mind for the word. "Pokétch?"
"No."
"A new phone?"
Anne's ire grew. "No."
"I have no idea what this is then."
"It's a Pokédex. Your Pokédex."
Holy crap. She really had gone all out with the gifts. And all this in a day's notice, I was impressed. Very impressed actually.
"How... Anne I don't even know... thank you. Thank you so much!"
"It's fine," she replied, tucking a string of loose hair behind her ear, her smile positively radiant. "Um, to be fair you would've gotten one today anyway. I beat you to Byron. It's not much to brag about."
"It's the thought that counts. I've never held a Pokédex before. Ellen come here."
The light on the Pokédex went from red to green. I pressed the scan button and a robotic voice began to speak.
Pokédex entry - 636
Larvesta, the Torch Pokémon.
Larvesta was once believed by many to have been born on the surface of the sun. Upon evolution, it encases itself in a thin cocoon and expulses fiery matter in concentric circles. Never engage a wild Larvesta, their parents are likely nearby.
Then how the hell did my mother manage to get one? If it was as difficult as it sounded to merely be in one's presence, how was it possible to take one from their parents and live to tell the tale? I definitely needed to do some more research on my mother. There was a lot that I didn't know. But what I now knew was of great help. Ellen's moves displayed on the screen: Ember, Flame Charge, Absorb, Take Down.
"Ehem?" Anne coughed. "I believe I came here for more than just one reason."
Yes. Finally.
"We're not battling in my house."
"To the garden, we go!" Anne cheered.
"Woah wait up." The garden had enough room for a smallish battle, not a large one. That was something to consider now that I'd set my sights on having all badges by the end of the year. Training would have to be done on the appropriate routes. I couldn't just blast through this like it was easy, there was some preparation needed.
We'd already been through Route 218, so at least I knew what to expect. Munchlax is without a doubt the greatest threat there, besides hordes of pissed-off Beedrill. Ellen and her soon-to-be allies all have a type advantage on 80% of the Pokémon on Route 218. For the most part, I was covered.
"Think here's good enough?"
I took a look around. No bushes. No grass. Not even a puddle was nearby. She'd chosen this place well. I couldn't help but wonder if she'd scouted out a place to battle when she first came here.
"I'll take the silence as a yes," she continued. "This will be a one-on-one, no switches allowed, no items allowed, and obviously you can't target the opposition's trainer. Understand?"
"I thought that was fitted as standard?" I joked. "Alright one-on-one. I take it Sandile will be your Pokémon?"
"Depends," she smiled. "Do you accept my challenge?"
I closed my eyes and lived in the moment. I let my words forever live on in my memory. "Yes. I accept your challenge!"
"Then I should warn you," she began, returning all of her Pokémon. "Sandile will listen to me... mostly. Just play fair and he'll play fair too. Play rough and, well," she laughed pointing at him.
Sandile was hopping on the ground growling at every one of my minute movements.
Point made. Point taken.
"Got it," I responded. "Ellen, I choose you!"
"Sandile, you're up bud. Don't aim for Eric's ankles. You can do so afterwards."
"Like hell, he will."
We got into our positions, standing apart by twenty or so metres. My finger rolled over Ellen's Poké Ball; a growing habit of mine that I hated. It gave away so much. More likely than not telling the enemy I was highly unprepared. It reminded me of... that Fisherman. I didn't want to bring it up both for my sake and for Anne's. I remembered to scan Sandile before I gave out any orders.
Pokédex entry - 551
Sandile, the Desert Croc Pokémon.
This Pokémon is known to be able to survive in desert conditions by burying itself underground, allowing this species to regulate its temperature easily.
Sandile are known to seek out foes ten times their size and battle them for fun. Once they find their prey, they will never stop hunting them down. The dark membranes surrounding its eyelids allow Sandile to see through the harshest of conditions, allowing the hunt for a battle to continue indefinitely.
If I wasn't scared of him before I sure was now. My Pokédex unfortunately didn't display Sandile's moves or his ability, leaving me at a disadvantage. The only move that could cause real harm here was Absorb.
Anne gave me the signal that she was ready. I waved back telling her that I was ready too.
The bugs that had run away earlier from Sandile's antics were firmly in my corner. No, literally, they were standing right behind me. Burmy, a small caterpillar-like Pokémon, alongside Cherubi, the cherry Pokémon, cheered Ellen on. She appeared to not care whatsoever, but I know I saw her shell shaking from excitement. Once a soft heart, always a soft heart. She highly appreciated me still donning my crown.
"Sandile let's go diving baby!" Anne yelled.
Sandile grunted. His body wormed into the floor and I could hear him chewing through rocks and roots. Anne somehow knew exactly what my strategy was going to be; I intended to keep things above ground. Below ground, a Fire-type was... screwed. Thanks to Ellen's Bug-typing, Ground-type moves won't do too much. Still... it was unsettling to hear the enemy, yet be unable to see them.
I widened my eyes. "Ellen spread yourself out as far as you can go."
She did so, but hesitantly. Now we just needed to wait.
"Sandile, up! Use Bite!"
"Don't move Ellen. Stay right there." I could tell she was growing nervous. The vibrations underground would tell Ellen precisely how close Sandile actually was. A few seconds passed by before Sandile exploded from underneath Ellen, firmly clasping a jaw around her. "USE ABSORB!"
Anne tapped her foot on the ground. That was a good sign that I'd caught her completely off guard.
Green leaves wrapped around Sandile, who was held in Ellen's sticky grip, and slowly started to drain him of his energy. The longer this went on, the better. I could already see some of Ellen's shell was starting to heal.
"Sandile bite your way out," Anne commanded. "Then send a Sand Attack at Larvesta."
Ellen's grip was starting to loosen.
"Ellen let him go, back up if possible!"
Too late.
Sand Attack had already built up and my Pokémon was sprayed with so much sand that her mane now looked brown. But that was good. The larger Ellen's mane became, the more difficult a time Sand Attack had against blinding her. We'd bought ourselves ten or so seconds. Good.
"Ellen shake your mane. Keep Sandile's mouth full of sand!"
It almost looked like another Sand Attack had gone off. Ellen shook the small particles back at Sandile, who was biting at the sand like he'd lost his mind. This was fun for him. Entertainment. Soon he'd see us as a real challenge. Eventually, Ellen managed to get most of the Sand off her mane.
"Sandile," Anne spoke softly, "use Rage."
Rage? Crap. She was taking the fight right to me.
A red shining light encompassed the entirety of Sandile's body, spreading to each limb like some kind of plague. Vast power was all Sandile craved, loved, and desired right now. His muscles, as small as they may have been, positively pulsated at a sickening speed. He wasn't even concentrating on me anymore, only Ellen. And she did not like that whatsoever.
"Ellen dodge–"
"GO!" Anne barked.
Sandile barked back, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow. Shit. He was biting, scratching, and even licking Ellen wherever he saw an opening. Ellen screamed for him to back off, but he wouldn't. A deep desire to unleash all the rage within had taken hold of him. I panicked when he flipped her over onto her back and started to bite at her torso.
Shit. Shit! She was in her most vulnerable position. Think brain, think!
My eyes ran over the sandy field in hopes of finding something that Ellen could use. Despite not having an advantage in position, Ellen had the advantage of being somewhat sane. Rage had forced Sandile to abandon its body in the hope of instant victory. That could be costly.
"Ellen move your shell into his mouth," I ordered. She followed my command and bought herself a much-needed reprieve. What I didn't account for was the side-effect of utilising Rage; the longer it went on, the more powerful the move would become.
"Sandile, Bury Pit!"
He nodded and finally let go of Ellen's body. He sniffed at the ground before slithering through it as though it were water. If the sight of him doing that was disturbing enough, what followed afterwards sure was. The sand started to sink, but not like quicksand. With quicksand, you have some time to get out. This, however, was more like a whirlpool of sandy matter that engulfed anything above it.
"Ellen up in the air, propel yourself using Ember." I kept my tone steady to avoid stuttering. This was nothing like my first unofficial battle. Customised moves mixed in with a crazy Pokémon with no remorse made for a terrifying scene.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Ellen was now standing right at the edge of the enormous pit staring down into it with fury. Sandile was walking side to side, staring up at Ellen like he was daring her to make a move. By propelling herself up, Ellen had smogged up the entire field with warm air. Small flickers of red light danced around her horns. An idea came to mind. The more hot air around her, the more intense her flames would become. I had her use ember to coat the top layer of the pit with scorching air.
"Breathe in the smog, but not too much," I whispered.
She nodded and started a circuit of absorbing the poor air and intensifying the flames around her. It grew and grew until I had to wince to even see her in the flames. My eyebrows were starting to burn and the oxygen around me became thin. She was ready.
Anne hadn't said a word since ordering her custom move to be used. What game was she playing? Sandile was practically at the mercy of my hand right now, the odds were stacked against him. Yet... why did it feel like Anne was hiding something up her sleeve? Maybe trapping Sandile was precisely what needed to happen, and he was simply waiting for his trainer's orders to do something. Rage had increased his damage so getting caught was the last thing I wanted to happen. Ellen had been lucky thus far, however, a Bite from Sandile now might shatter her shell.
"Use all of your horns for this," I warned. "EMBER!"
Ellen let loose from her whorled horns. They danced together at first, weaving within each other's spaces, creating a vast waterfall of fire, and then pounded the pit below with a force so great the ground rumbled.
Was that it?
I peered into the pit standing on my toes. No fucking way. The entire pit had turned from sand into glass. Worse yet, Sandile still hadn't moved. His jaw was pried open with shards of glass digging into his tongue. But he looked different now. Red oozed from every part of him. This time it was so intense steam started to rise from his relatively small frame. I glanced up at Anne.
She was smiling. Not the smile I'd grown accustomed to. No, this was a smile for battle. A smile for a plan that went unimpeded. What was she thinking letting Sandile tank all of those hits? It may not be effective against him, but it'd done a whole lot of damage. Anne chuckled at my expression.
"Giving up so soon?" I teased.
"Take a look at Sandile and you'll have your answer," she said still smiling. "Oh Sandile, my precious Sandile. Are you ready? Can you feel your power?"
"San..." he growled back.
Ellen looked into the pit with shock. She'd no doubt expected to win by now. For such a powerful Pokémon such as herself, who would have expected otherwise? This was proving to be more of a challenge than even she thought possible. Her white mane stood on end. She was scared, I realised. Things usually always went her way. Today was different. Fate had interfered.
Out of curiosity, I checked the profile of Sandile again. This time I looked into his abilities. When I spotted the hidden ability page I pressed the star icon and felt my head spin.
"Anger point?" I asked aloud. "What the hell does that do?"
"Press the description," Anne yelled. This was turning out to be a very awkward battle.
"...Anger Point raises the ability-bearer's Attack to the maximum level after receiving a critical hit."
Anne openly laughed aloud. "Sandile, end this. Now."
Sandile bit through his glass prison and shortly after barged through the ground and into Ellen, who abruptly lost consciousness after the hit. She tried a Flame Charge but Sandile's Rage was too much to sustain. The battle was over.
I had lost.
Hi, Author here. Um please could you leave a review for the first-ever battle I've written? Anonymous or otherwise is cool. I'm curious if you enjoyed it as much as myself!
